JHU, Technion-Israel Institute Establish Joint Biomed
Program

Johns Hopkins and the Technion-Israel Institute of
Technology in Haifa, Israel, have signed an agreement to
establish a joint research and educational program in biomedical
sciences and biomedical engineering. A major objective of the
program is to enhance collaborative research between the
institutions and speed the commercialization of new products.

The Joint Johns Hopkins University-Technion-Israel Institute
of Technology Program for Medical Science and Biomedical
Engineering is to become operational on Jan. 1, 2001.

The program involves faculty from Johns Hopkins' School of
Medicine and the university's Whiting School of Engineering and,
at the Technion, the Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine along
with departments and faculties dealing with biomedical
engineering, in collaborative projects and extensive exchanges of
faculty, undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral
fellows.

Murray Sachs, director of Hopkins'
Department of Biomedical
Engineering; Elias Zerhouni, Hopkins' executive vice dean;
Ilene Busch-Vishniac, dean of the Whiting
School of Engineering; and Rafael Beyar, dean of the Technion
medical school, will be on the management committee for the
program, along with other faculty from both institutions.

"The Hopkins-Technion program is an in-ternational
educational and research collaboration unique in the fields of
biomedical engineering and medical research," Sachs said.

"In an era when medical advances depend on genetic
engineering and medical technology, the unique strengths of both
universities in these areas will enhance the development of new
diagnosis and treatment," Beyar said.

At Hopkins, most work will take place in the Whitaker
Biomedical Engineering Institute, located in the School of
Medicine, and in the Whiting School, on the Homewood campus.

Technion scientists and Hopkins' Division of Cardiology and
departments of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering have pursued
numerous joint opportunities. Current collaborations in these
areas include physiological system modeling, cardiopulmonary
resuscitation and cardiac assistance devices, three-dimensional
sophisticated imaging techniques and image-guided surgical
technology. These and other technologies also have potential use
in oncology and neuroscience and other fields at the frontiers of
biomedical research, according to university President William R.
Brody.

"With the scientific advances and technological developments
occurring at a rapid pace in areas of major strengths at both
institutions, a unique opportunity exists to capitalize on the
kind of synergy these collaborations produce," Brody said.

The program will be funded by a combination of donations and
research grants and contracts. Half the funds will be raised by
the American Technion Society, the leading private American
organization supporting higher education in Israel. Eventually,
it is anticipated that the program will become self-funded
through the development and licensing of commercial products.

The Johns Hopkins University Biomedical Engineering
Department is ranked No. 1 in the nation by U.S. News & World
Report. The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology commands
a worldwide reputation for its pioneering work in many
engineering disciplines, has a well-established,
research-oriented medical faculty and department of biomedical
engineering, and is considered a major economic engine in that
country.